Patents Assigned to Tera Systems, Inc.
  • Patent number: 7143367
    Abstract: An electronic design automation system provides optimization of RTL models of electronic designs, to produce detailed constraints and data precisely defining the requirements for the back-end flows leading to design fabrication. The system takes a RTL model of an electronic design and maps it into an efficient, high level hierarchical representation of the hardware implementation of the design. Automatic partitioning partitions the hardware representation into functional partitions, and creates a fully characterized performance envelope for a range of feasible implementations for each of the partitions, using accurate placement based wire load models. Chip-level optimization selects and refines physical implementations of the partitions to produce compacted, globally routed floorplans. Chip-level optimization iteratively invokes re-partitioning passes to refine the partitions and to recompute the feasible implementations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2006
    Assignee: Tera Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Tommy K Eng
  • Publication number: 20060053396
    Abstract: An electronic design automation system provides optimization of RTL models of electronic designs, to produce detailed constraints and data precisely defining the requirements for the back-end flows leading to design fabrication. The system takes a RTL model of an electronic design and maps it into an efficient, high level hierarchical representation of the hardware implementation of the design. Automatic partitioning partitions the hardware representation into functional partitions, and creates a fully characterized performance envelope for a range of feasible implementations for each of the partitions, using accurate placement based wire load models. Chip-level optimization selects and refines physical implementations of the partitions to produce compacted, globally routed floorplans. Chip-level optimization iteratively invokes re-partitioning passes to refine the partitions and to recompute the feasible implementations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2005
    Publication date: March 9, 2006
    Applicant: Tera Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Tommy Eng
  • Publication number: 20050268267
    Abstract: Methods and systems for electronic design automation includes clustering objects into more manageable numbers of objects. Clustering is optionally performed to reduce or minimize interconnections between clusters. Clustering optionally includes multi-level clustering. The clusters, and any unclustered objects, are floorplanned. Floorplanning positions the clusters so as to reduce or minimize the length of interconnections between the clusters. Objects within the clusters are then placed within the area assigned to the corresponding clusters. Placement optionally utilizes placement-based wire load models to accurately predict timing issues. A bottoms-up procedure is optionally performed during clustering and/or floorplanning, whereby area and/or size constraints of clustered objects are taken into account.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2005
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Applicant: Tera Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Zhong-Qing Shang
  • Publication number: 20050268258
    Abstract: A rule-based design consultant and analysis method for an integrated circuit (“IC”) layout design compares an IC design against a list of rules. The IC design information may be included in a set of databases, including a database containing physical implementation and technology specific timing and area information. The consultant and method can be used with a graphical user interface that displays a report of the rules run on the IC design. Cross-probing may be incorporated to display at least one diagram of an object that is not compliant with a particular rule, as well as relevant source code for the object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2005
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Applicant: Tera Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: John Decker
  • Publication number: 20050268268
    Abstract: Electronic design automation (“EDA) methods and systems for structured ASICs include accessing or receiving objects representative of source code for a structured ASIC. The objects are flattened to remove hierarchies associated with the source code, such as functional RTL hierarchies. The flattened objects are clustered to accommodate design constraints associated with the structured ASIC. The clustered objects are floorplanned within a design area of the structured ASIC. The objects are then placed within the portions of the design areas assigned to the corresponding clusters. The objects optionally include logic objects and one or more memory objects and/or proprietary objects, wherein the one or more memory objects and/or proprietary objects are placed concurrently with the logic objects.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2005
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Applicant: Tera Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Teng-I Wang, Zhong-Qing Shang
  • Publication number: 20050268269
    Abstract: When designing integrated circuits, RTL source code is received and converted into objects. Objects may include a reference to relevant lines of source RTL code. A graphical user interface (“GUI”) displays the RTL code in an RTL window. The GUI also displays one or more representations of the objects in additional windows. The GUI uses references between the objects and the RTL code to map between the RTL code window and the window(s) of the one or more representations. When a user highlights a portion of one window, the corresponding portions of other windows are automatically highlighted by the GUI. A tool in accordance with the invention optionally operates in conjunction with one or more analysis tools that automatically highlight portions of one or more windows to illustrate potential errors or timing issues. Timing diagrams showing timing delays between various elements of a block may also be displayed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2005
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Applicant: Tera Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark Coiley
  • Patent number: 6971073
    Abstract: An electronic design automation system provides optimization of RTL models of electronic designs, to produce detailed constraints and data precisely defining the requirements for the back-end flows leading to design fabrication. The system takes a RTL model of an electronic design and maps it into an efficient, high level hierarchical representation of the hardware implementation of the design. Automatic partitioning partitions the hardware representation into functional partitions, and creates a fully characterized performance envelope for a range of feasible implementations for each of the partitions, using accurate placement based wire load models. Chip-level optimization selects and refines physical implementations of the partitions to produce compacted, globally routed floorplans. Chip-level optimization iteratively invokes re-partitioning passes to refine the partitions and to recompute the feasible implementations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2005
    Assignee: Tera Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Tommy K. Eng
  • Patent number: 6360356
    Abstract: An electronic design automation system provides optimization of RTL models of electronic designs, to produce detailed constraints and data precisely defining the requirements for the back-end flows leading to design fabrication. The system takes a RTL model of an electronic design and maps it into an efficient, high level hierarchical representation of the hardware implementation of the design. Automatic partitioning partitions the hardware representation into functional partitions, and creates a fully characterized performance envelope for a range of feasible implementations for each of the partitions, using accurate placement based wire load models. Chip-level optimization selects and refines physical implementations of the partitions to produce compacted, globally routed floorplans. Chip-level optimization iteratively invokes re-partitioning passes to refine the partitions and to recompute the feasible implementations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2002
    Assignee: Tera Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Tommy K. Eng